Pitch Swings for More Than Just the "Woman Angle" of Baseball

Pitch,Fox's highly-anticipated drama about the first female pitcher in major league baseball, boasts that it's a "true story on the verge of happening."

During the show's panel at the Television Critics Association fall previews on Monday, producers and cast members were adamant that a woman breaking into male-dominated professional sports is imminent, but also that Pitch is a deeper drama than just what happens if a woman tries to play with the guys.

"This character felt different to me. It's the story of this woman, [Ginny Baker] coming of age with the lens of the whole world on her," executive producer Dan Fogelman said. "It's a show that takes place in the world of baseball, but it's really a story about this girl and these characters."

The show will obviously cover the drama that comes with being the first woman to attempt to gender-integrate Major League Baseball, but the show won't focus entirely on the meaning of that change. It will keep the focus on how a female joining the San Diego Padres would affect a real baseball team, and how the pressure of breaking this particular glass ceiling affects her ability to play the game.

"We're focusing a lot on the drama inside the team. It's a big story, when you're a sports fan like we all are, like, 'Is this a distraction for the team? Is the No. 5 starter on the team getting more attention than a No. 5 call-up normally would?'" Fogelman said. "Those are the kind of inter-personal dynamics I find most interesting."

Yet, when asked why the show only focuses on a female athlete when she breaks into a male world instead of making a show about an already female-dominated or integrated sport (like softball, boxing or formula car racing) Pitch star Kylie Bunbury was adamant that baseball was key.

"She enjoys playing baseball. I know a lot of girls that played baseball and then got to a certain age and couldn't play anymore. They had to play softball," Bunbury said. "This girl just wants to play baseball. That's what she wants to do."